After hotel pickup in the morning, head out with your personal guide and start your private tour with a visit to Ba Dinh Square. See the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, a complex that includes a museum, the modest stilt house where the revolutionary leader lived and worked, and his final resting place.
Then take in Hanoi's One-Pillar Pagoda, constructed in 1049 to resemble a lotus blossom. Continue to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, where you'll learn about the cultural diversity of this ancient land.
Following an included lunch, set off in the afternoon for a drive through French-colonial Hanoi. View the Hanoi Opera House and other sites in the French Quarter. Go inside the infamous Hoa Lo Prison (aka Hanoi Hilton), where US Senator John McCain was imprisoned during the Vietnam War.
Continue with your guide to the Temple of Literature, which dates back to 1070 and is dedicated to Confucius. Take a cyclo (rickshaw) ride through Hanoi’s Old Quarter, a network of narrow alleys and shop-houses also known as '36 Streets.' It's a wonderful place to absorb local life and peruse items, from fabrics to crafts to exotic medicines.
Your tour will be finished at your hotel.
Tour organizer:
